Children of the First People

"An excellent book profiling youth in Alaska Native cultures. A good first purchase for libraries and schools with an interest in geography or Indigenous peoples."
--School Library Journal

"An engaging portrait of the diversity of Alaskan Native life."
--Horn Book

"Author Brown and photographer Corral trek across Alaska to a sample selection of children from 10 Indigenous cultures of Alaska. Each chapter looks at the life of one child as representative of their culture. The stories tell of the day-to-day activities of each child, how they engage with their families, their traditional culture, and their aspirations."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Alaska is a mythic land brought closer through stories of Native kids doing both familiar (basketball, playing trombone) and far-flung (seal hunting, dog sledding) things, in environments as disparate as the verdant south and the icy north."
--Scholastic Teacher

Praise for Children of the Midnight Sun:

"Children of the Midnight Sun acknowledges the drastic changes of the last few decades, with the advent of satellite television, access to transportation, and the Internet, but focuses on the preservation or reawakening of culture through each child."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Author and artist successfully communicate the common thread linking these eight lives: the importance of Native traditions, family bonds and the wisdom and experience of preceding generations as they navigate in modern times."
--Publishers Weekly

"For Native children, growing up in Alaska today means dwelling in a place where traditional practices sometimes mix oddly with modern conveniences. Children of the Midnight Sun explores the lives of eight Alaskan Native children, each representing a unique and ancient culture. This extraordinary book also looks at the critical role elders play in teaching the young Native traditions."
--Children's Book Council

"Brown seems to have anticipated the kinds of things kids would want to ask about these Alaskans, given the chance, and offers readers a glimpse at eight distinct personalities and ways of life. . . All who read Children of the Midnight Sun will come away with an enriched view of the lives of young native Alaskans."
--School Library Journal

"The violet-and-crimson photo of a sunset on the jacket immediately dispels the narrow image of Alaska as a stark, uninviting place. Inside are more excellent photos, all taken by Roy Corral, which show Alaska's vibrant contrasts—snow-swept villages and manicured city gardens, native dances and trips to the mall."
--Booklist